News: LEDs
23 July 2020
Ushio’s new D-Series SWIR LEDs 2-4 times more powerful than S-Series
Ushio Inc of Tokyo, Japan has commenced production of its latest high-powered short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) LEDs, the Epitex D-Series. Following the prior Epitex S-Series, the D-Series achieves what is claimed to be record output power and efficiency for an SWIR LED (a 2-4-fold improvement).
Low-power chips are mounted in SMT packages and moulded-type LEDs, while with 1mm2 high-powered chips the SWIR D-Series can be mounted in EDC, SMBB and TO-66 packages. For most wavelengths, a two-fold improvement in output and efficiency is attained. However, the high-power versions have ramped up their forward current to 1A and gain a boost of up to four times the original radiated power output. The resulting efficiency improvement provides cheaper power output, reducing the overall cost per Watt.
As part of the ever-changing solid-state lighting (SSL) sector, the list of applications for SWIR is evolving and expanding continuously. Ushio therefore offers a wide range of SWIR wavelengths (1000–1750nm) and many customization options, such as multi-chip packages or the output of specific wavelengths. This ability to create a suitable SWIR LED for each individual application gives the Epitex D-Series versatility.
Applications include biological tissue characterization, biometrics, blood analysis, counterfeit detection, machine vision, material identification, medical sensors, moisture content measurement, mineral exploration, night vision, optical sorting, produce inspection, quality control/quality assurance, retinal scan and OCT-angiography, spectroscopy, sun simulation, and wafer inspection.
Ushio has also committed to offering a comprehensive range in speciality solid-state lighting. The Epitex LED range covers ultraviolet (UV), visible, near-infrared (NIR) and SWIR wavelengths between 365nm and 1750nm and relies on over 30 years of experience in chip and packaging technologies. Chip technology includes bespoke design, in-house epitaxial growth and device processing, while packaging technology brings optics design and thermal management techniques. Epitex offers EDC, SMBB, SMT and multi-chip SMT standard packages alongside many others.
The SWIR D-Series, which is based on indium gallium arsenide phosphide (InGaAsP) technology, is not the only SWIR LED series to receive an upgrade. Based on GaAs technology, the 1050nm-wavelength SMBB1050GD-1100 high-power SWIR LED achieves increased output power of 700mW at 1A.
